Voltaire Outside The Box Thinker Analysis

Voltaire the “Outside-the-Box” Thinker

In the 18th century, the french enlightenment thinker, Françios-Marie d’ Arouet, also known as Voltaire, created plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. Born 1694, in Paris, Voltaire was the fourth child to be born to a wealthy, aristocratic family. He attended the college Louis-le-Grand and was taught by the Jesuits. He majored in law but had a passion for writing. He later became a secretary for a French diplomat but left and took up philosophy. His motivators throughout his life were John Locke, Isaac Newton, and Francis Bacon. Throughout his lifetime, he angered the French monarchy, due to his rebellious ideas. His writings got him kicked out of France multiple times. His

Voltaire’s view on the nature of mankind was very pessimistic. He saw the continual history of man having the same passions and going for the same nonsense. Concluded man’s small causes lead to large impractical effects. Voltaire tries to go to society’s point of view by stating, “If there is no god we had to invent him”. In this dialogue Voltaire is comparing man to animals by saying they need a God so people would fear the supernatural; if this was not established every human would kill another human. Voltaire believed that if man had reasonable thought and knowledge and took out their superstition and ignorance the world would be better, but still not perfect. He thinks man could be better leading to a better world. He states, “As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities”. This means he was comparing believing religions, “absurdities”, will make people commit horrible things, “atrocities”. In a country man is supposed to be entitled to certain liberties and

He believed that women were physically and mentally insuperior and used beauty to get what they want. In his book, Candide, in the first chapter, he calls the main female character, Cunegonde,“fresh, buxom, appetizing”(Voltaire 1). He describes the women’s physical features right away in the story and uses words to make her appealing to the male reader. He describes awful, gruesome actions happening to the old woman and Cunegonde throughout the story, as undertones towards women being insuperior. He hints at the women being unable to make their own decision, when Cunegonde’s brother tells Candide that he cannot marry Cunegonde. Voltaire believes that women cannot provide or think for